Good morning,
Praise the Lord for the way the Lord of the earth and the heavens ushers in the seasons. Praise the Lord for the season of Spring. The temperature last Sunday reached to about 75 - it was balmy and beautiful. I had a note from our friend in Oklahoma that they had 9 inches of snow this past weekend. Laureen spent an extended weekend in Washington with Sunita and Andy. She has a very blessed time. She got back home yesterday, safe and sound.
One of the readings for last Sunday was taken from Psalm 126. The Psalm depicts the Joy in the journey for the people of the Lord who are redeemed by the Lord. Joy characterizes the Christian journey. Joy is not the absence of sorrow; it is the ability to have faith and be thankful in the midst of all circumstances. According to C. S. Lewis, joy is as unpredictable as the One who gives it; so C.S. Lewis titled his autobiography, "Surprised By Joy".
Joy is the outcome of the Christian life. We don’t generate it. The Lord does. None of us have joy within ourselves. It is neither inborn nor self-generating. People seek to attain joy through entertainment, which offers a temporary, artificial joy or satisfaction. The vast entertainment industry in our nation is a sign of the depletion of joy in our culture. Many people act like bored kings in need of a court jester. It is foolish to think that it is possible to find joy from entertainment. Joy is not a commodity and it cannot be purchased. We do not need mere distraction from our stressful lives; we need a cure. The only cure comes from a living relationship with Christ. Our need for joy is legitimate, but how that need is met often is not.
The joy spoken of in Psalm 126 is past, present, and future. “We were filled with laughter” and “songs of joy” in verse 2. In verse 3: “we are filled with joy”. Verse 6 says that we “will return with songs of joy” vs 6.
The joy that was lavished on Israel gave the nation a reputation for blessedness. “Then it was said among the nations, ‘the Lord has done great things for them’.” (Psalm 126:2) The “nations” refers to the heathen gentiles, who became convinced that Israel had something special that set them apart—a God who took care of them. God allowed them to be taken captive to preserve their ethnic and spiritual identity, then returned them to the land of promise. So great was this act of restoration that all nations heard about it. God’s deliverance makes unbelievers stand back and take notice. The psalmist deliberately stated that it was “the Lord” who “brought back the captives to Zion” (vs 1)—not king Cyrus of Persia, who is credited by history with the release of the Jewish captives. In 538 BC Cyrus signed an edict releasing the Jews, allowing them to return to their homeland. In Proverbs we’re told, “The heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord”. Humanly speaking, the Persian king allowed Israel to return; but it was all part of God’s plan. The psalmist gave credit where credit was due. The Lord declared in Psalm 46, “I will be exalted among the nations” (vs 10).
We are given comforting assurance in the words of verse 5, “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.” To “sow in tears” is a reference to death. It was a common way of referring to burial; even Jesus used this imagery when He described death as "a seed buried in the ground which will sprout into new life" (John 12:24). The grave is not the final word. We can rejoice, even in the face of death, because we have hope for restoration, the promise of eternal life. Sorrow is our sowing, and rejoicing will be our reaping.
Verse 6 assures us that, though we weep, we will rejoice. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus sowed tears for a world lost in sin. In another garden, He destroyed the power of sin by conquering death. Homecoming and harvest are God’s promises to His people. God weeps with us, so that we may someday rejoice with Him. Because of Jesus, death is not the end of life. “Because I live, you shall live also”, Jesus said. “I am the resurrection and the life; they who believe in Me shall never die.” God took the worst deed of history, the Cross, and turned it into the greatest victory ever known. There will be an end to mourning. God will wipe the tears from our eyes. “We will come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.”
The image in these words is of harvest time. Sheaves were bundles of grain, usually wheat or barley, cut and bound together. Harvest was a highlight of the year, a time of great blessing and joy.
We often discover joy in the midst of sorrow. During the most painful times we become aware of a spiritual reality larger than ourselves, that enables us to hope. Henri Nouwen wrote, “My grief was the place where I found my joy.” We may undergo hardship, but God will have the last word. This means we can rejoice even when our wishes are not realized.
Joy is not an escape from sorrow. We foolishly think we can achieve joy by eliminating the things in life that hurt us. We are experts in constructing futile strategies for achieving joy. Yet, when we come to the end of our resources, we realize that joy is what God gives, not what we can attain by our work. True joy enables us to face reality, because we do so with the assurance that God is working in our lives, even the things that cause us pain, to bring about His perfect will.
In His JOY.
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSw7CcAXPWk
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